Hi all,
I am signed up to take a tele building course with a local luthier this spring. I am leaning towards putting in P90’s. Any suggestions?
I’ve looked at Lollar, Frailin (the Steel Pole 43’s and the standards P90), Ron Ellis pickups are intriguing but outrageously expensive and while Julian Lage swears by them I’m not sure I can justify $1,000 for a set of pickups.
Just to add to your possibilities list, you might eat to consider some picks that are close to P 90’s but aren’t. A lot of guitars have a P 90 in the bridge and a Charlie Christian in the neck. Tim Lerch has a Tele with all Charlie Christians. There are many great CC pickup options out there.
You also might consider a staple pickup which is somewhere between a P 90 and a dynasonic. Great sounding Seymour Duncans are out there.
You could also go Dynasonic all the way.
All of the P 90 brands you have listed are excellent.
Hi Patrick,
I have the Lollar CC’s in a tele and love them (and love Tim) Dynasonic is an interesting idea, I worry they’d be too bright. I am curious about the staple style too, I’ll check that out. Thanks!
Here’s a great video of some Seymour Duncan staples in action. Obviously not a Tele. This guy is a solid player.
I have had many guitars with P90 pickups, including Lollar, Mojotone, Brandwound, Fralin, Elliott and Lambertones. I also have Dynasonics in another guitar.
My favorite p90s are the Fralins and the Lollars. Fralins are a bit more aggressive and rich; Lollars more refined and detailed. You can’t go wrong with either.
If I could only have one set I would give a slight edge to the Fralins. They have an additional bite that you just can’t get with the Lollars, but can be rolled off with the volume/tone controls. If you’re the sort of player who likes to use the volume and tone knobs when playing the Fralins have the most expressive range, in my opinion.
If you are unlikely to ever want a lot of punch or bite, and just want pickups that will reliably sound good with minimal tweaking, the Lollars might be a better fit.
Hope that helps, and let us know what you decide!
Thanks Rob, very helpful. I don’t play with a lot of bite, just a little grit now and then. I play a lot of Soul, Americana, Blues, and Jazz (lot of 70’s soul jazz stuff), but never get too hairy. Have you ever played the Fralin Steel Pole 43’s? Curious about them, how do you like the Dynasonics? Are they in a T style guitar? I had a Grestch Jet years ago and found them a little icy.
I have a Jim Adkins Tele with P90s in them.